Stand by Me Doraemon Movie Review

Date: 15 December 2014
Showtime: 7.40pm (Digital in Japanese)
Venue: Golden Village at Jurong Point

A true Doraemon fan should never miss out on this movie and it's true, I'm not joking!

Having seen the animation series on television for the past decade, this is really the first time I've really watched a full length Doraemon movie at the cinema. Actually, there were previous Doraemon movies shown on television especially during the public holidays but I didn't watch it full, probably because it's not to my liking and got used to the normal 6 to 8 minutes short series.

Thankfully, this movie never made me wanted to sleep or leave the cinema, I laughed instead and also felt that it was also heartwarming.

Stand by Me Doraemon tells about the beginning where Doraemon began to help Nobita after a boy named Sewashi claiming that his family is suffering from the debts Nobita made after 4 generations. Nobita's future can be re-written with the help of Doraemon's gadgets such as Anywhere Door, Memory Bread and Take-Copter. However, something has to be sacrificed where Doraemon has to go back to the 22nd century when Nobita feels happier after his future has been re-written.

Before the movie started its production, Doraemon comics have shown those scenes from Doraemon staying to help out Nobita and leaving Nobita after successfully completed his duties. To me, I had a rough idea on how the comic sequences might turn out into a movie even though in actual fact they have added some scenes here and there to make it more entertaining.

I must say as technology advances, Stand by Me Doraemon has made it in 3D, unlike what I've seen on television. All characters have a slightly different look as compared to the normal cartoon series. What surprised me the most was...Nobita's dad! I can't reveal that much but you really have to compare with the cartoon series and the movie itself. A totally unexpected look I could say. The 3D look of the setting also made a 180 degree change, see it for yourself.

The movie itself contains lots of laughs and not forgetting, sadness into it. When a thing is gained, something is sacrificed. This is the one sentence that really needs to consider in our daily lives. This movie has clearly shown it which is a plus point.

Stand by Me Doraemon was first shown in Japan in August 2014, stood at the #1 spot for 5 weeks. After that, the movie is distributed to Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. 3 different versions are shown in Singapore, Digital in Japanese, Digital in Mandarin and 3D in Japanese. I've listened to the Mandarin-dubbed trailer and it is amazing to hear the same voices like in the normal cartoon series. Sadly, the Mandarin version only has 2 showtimes while the Japanese version has 4 or 5 showtimes so it could have been better if the number of showtimes is even but after listening to the Japanese version, the overall movie was great.

Plus points:

The movie has clearly shown what we normally see it on television, the introduction of various gadgets by Doraemon to help Nobita, at the start of the movie. Honestly speaking, without those scenes, something is really missing from the movie and who is Doraemon? A blue earless cyborg cat from the 22nd century! Obviously, he has to show such abilities! (Common sense)

Needless to say, the 3D effects are great and the characters' expressions really add a lot of points to it, totally entertaining! Wonder if budget permits, will there be another movie filming in 3D?

Minus points/Suggestions:

Not exactly minus points but not all characters really show up in that movie. Suneo's dad and mum? Shizuka's mum? Where are they? Maybe the directors are thinking that they are not important characters after all. Well, no harm to that.

Movie rating: 10 (A really must-watch movie! Watch it before 2014 ends or maybe at the start of 2015 to ring in the new year)